


The Potions Practical

by Ladderofyears



Series: Kisses [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, M/M, Plans For The Future, Potions, Recipes, career choices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 02:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17840354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladderofyears/pseuds/Ladderofyears
Summary: Surely nothing else could explain the punishment that was his weekly practical Potions lesson, held at the ungodly hour of 9.00 each Monday morning? Honestly, the bloody Hufflepuffs were in Herbology right now, enjoying a nice warm lesson in the greenhouses; trimming leaves and cuddling their Mandrakes.That would have suited perfectly, he thought sourly. A nice, relaxing way to ease into the week.A small story where Albus and Scorpius find that their future might be closer that they ever imagined.





	The Potions Practical

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sabbywammmy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabbywammmy/gifts).



> sabbywammmy, thank you so much for all of your wonderful support. Your messages this morning made such a big difference to me, and I appreciate everything that you say xxxx
> 
> My partner told me stop hiding away from dialogue, so here it is: a story where Scorpius and Albus are trapped in front of a boiling cauldron and forced to do lots of talking!

#### 09.00

Albus thought he must have been a particularly evil wizard in a past-life. Not Grindelwald-level evil, obviously, but pretty bad nevertheless. 

Surely nothing else could explain the punishment that was his weekly practical Potions lesson, held at the ungodly hour of 9.00 each Monday morning? Honestly, the bloody Hufflepuffs were in Herbology right now, enjoying a nice warm lesson in the greenhouses; trimming leaves and cuddling their Mandrakes. _That would have suited perfectly,_ he thought sourly. _A nice, relaxing way to ease into the week._

Slytherin, however, had the joy of the freezing Potions laboratory. _At least in their dungeon dormitories they were allowed to cast warming charms_. Professor Methi went utterly spare if she caught anyone casting down here, claiming that it affected the potency of the ingredients and accelerated the brew times. Wands were strictly forbidden. 

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the lab utterly reeked today. 

Honestly, every time Albus came into this room, he seriously considered joining Lily in her veganism. The room smelt like a powerful mix of scorched hair and some kind of mould. _Ugh. And row after row of dusty jars, each full discoloured, unrecognisable body parts floating in cloudy chemicals?_ They’d never once moved since the day he’d started at Hogwarts all those years before. Albus wouldn’t have been truly surprised if they’d all been stood there when his grandad James had sat in this very seat (which Albus dearly though he might have; he’d found his nickname carved into the desk lid.) 

Not that Scorpius thought the jars were so very disgusting. No, his boyfriend thought everything down here in the lab was just fascinating. He and Professor. Methi were always down here, testing some new variation on a traditional potion, trying to make the effects last longer and the results more rapid. 

Scorpius was truly her prodigy. Methi had been some some of Potions boffin at Cambridge Uni before she’d taken the Hogwarts job, and it was on her recommendation that Scor had been given his unconditional offer to follow their Healing course. 

Of course, it had come as a shock to Albus when Scorpius had told him his news, only two weeks before. The idea of his boyfriend starting this big new phase of his life was terrifying. After all, Al was used to them spending all their time together, and sharing every aspect of their lives. The idea that they’d be moving in different circles, following different trajectories had shaken him deeply. 

But he loved Scorpius, and wanted him to live his best life; so he’d smiled brightly, and kissed his boyfriend deeply when he’d proudly shown Albus the acceptance letter. Just thinking of Scor’s warm, bright smile, and how his gorgeous long fingers had trembled so delicately as he beheld the parchment brightened Albus’ mood considerably. Suddenly the laboratory didn’t seem quite so dismal a place.

Albus delved into his satchel and pulled out his favourite quill, and the royal blue ink he loved so much. 

His textbook, _Advanced Potion-Making_ was a less welcome sight. As well as being his brothers old copy (and, as a result, packed full of his disgusting moving sketches) it appeared to have been dipped in a vat of bat spleens at some point, and at least half the pages were missing. _Really_ , Albus thought, _it was really only worth keeping around because it irritated Scor so very beautifully. He only had to see it once to start pouting-_

Al’s imagination was rudely interrupted by a real-life Scorpius clattering loudly through the door, seven whole minutes late for Potions. He’d obviously been rushing: his cheeks were flushed slightly pink and the front of his normally pristine hair was askew. He muttered his apologies to Professor. Methi, smiling bashfully. _It was a good job that he was such a teacher’s pet, otherwise seven whole points would have been taken from their House._ As it was, all his boyfriend received was a role of the teacher’s eyes. 

Scorpius sat down next to Albus, and busied himself with preparing for their practical. Of course, Scor was fastidious to a fault, and the clever sod had done all the pre-reading. Scorpius opened his ( _perfect, non-pornographic, non-spleen dipped_ ) textbook to a sheaf of handwritten notes about their days task, and only gave the slightest, nearly inaudible, huff at the state of Albus’ textbook.

#### Basic Burn Banishing Potion.

> 250fd.oz Water  
>  Fresh Rosemary  
>  Tea-tree Oil  
>  Red Myrrh (six generous pinches)  
>  Dried Beetle Powder (seven spoonfuls)  
>  Powdered Valerian Root (two spoonfuls)  
>  Wormwood Essence (fifteen drops)  
>  100fd.oz Flobberworm Mucus

_This seemed a relatively easy brew_ , Albus decided, as he wrote down the date and title. There was no dicing of pickled dragon liver, so it was already a winner in his opinion. Pushing back his chair, he went to collect their lab coats from the cupboard.

Returning only moments later, Scorpius had scraped his hair back, and was wearing his reading glasses. He’d tidied their surface ready for the practical too. Albus secretly thought Scor looked _just perfect_ when he was in his serious, head-boy work mode. A few random thoughts battered around his brain, chiefly about mussing up all that perfection under the workroom benches….

“ _Albus!_ ” Scorpius hissed, poking him hard in the leg. 

“Stop bloody daydreaming! You do know that Rose has been practising _Legilimency?_ I’m not super keen on the entirety of the Gryffindor Common Room laughing about my boyfriends intimate-” Scorpius was cut off mid flow, by the sudden glow of Professor. Methi’s charmed hourglass. Their practical was starting, and Albus reluctantly tucked away his fantasy. 

Albus risked a quick look at his cousin, who was sitting with her friends in the red and gold side of the laboratory. Rose gave him a wide grin, and a wave, and Al looked away. His cheeks were burning. _He’d get Scorpius to practice Occlumency with him later_ , he thought. _It might come in useful._

#### 9.12

> Collect brewing equipment. Collect and weigh the ingredients. 

Scorpius collected the beaker, stirring rod, measuring cup and cauldron, while Albus got in the queue for the ingredients cupboard. As the students busied themselves, the warm hum of activity around the laboratory felt so incredibly familiar and safe. Al thought back to how much he’d loathed Potions practicals when he’d started at Hogwarts. Everything he’d attempted had seemed to want to burn; to explode or simply fail. _He still wasn’t the world’s best potioneer_ , he reasoned, shivering a little in the cold. But what he’d failed to realise as a furious twelve year old was that _things would get better._

Albus thought back to that little kid: skinny, freckly and full of rage at everything and everyone. If he could tell his twelve year old self that he’d be worried about life after Hogwarts- that he’d reminisce about this disgusting potions classroom!- well, that kid would just have laughed. 

As he decanted the last of the Flobberworm Mucus into a beaker, Albus focussed on not spilling a drop. The smell of the stuff was vile; like a mixture of vomit and rotting vegetation. He knew from bitter experience that once that stuff stained, and that there was no _scourgify_ on the planet that would remove it. _Perhaps_ , he realised, _there were some parts of Potions he really wouldn’t miss._

####  _9.19_

__

> Finely chop up the Rosemary.  
>  Pour in 250fl.oz of water and add three pinches of Red Myrrh to the beaker. Stir anti clockwise three times.  
>  Be careful not to disturb the mixture once you have stirred.  
>  Leave mix to stand for five minutes.  
>  Light pewter cauldron, low heat. 

Scorpius made quick work of the Rosemary. His bolline knife was wickedly sharp, and Albus always felt a bit faint when he got it too close to his fingertips. The object had a long, sharp blade and some strange runes engraved onto the handle. Scor had told him the knife had been in his family for generations, and that every Malfoy heir used it during their Hogwarts years. Al dread to think what kind of dark rituals that knife had seen, and steadfastly refused to touch the blasted thing.

Albus focussed on his mixture, pleased that every single grain of Myrrh was absorbed. It was a tricky ingredient, and Al knew he’d been too heavy handed with it in the past. Professor. Methi came over and lit their cauldron with just a nod of her head. 

“Where did you get to, Scor?” Albus asked, as the two boys leaned against their bench, watching the steam rise gently from their cauldron. “You were beside me when we finished breakfast, but you you were late for Potions. Its a bloody good job Methi loves you as much as she does… Anyone else would be washing test-tubes all breaktime-”

“Count me out of that, love!” his boyfriend replied, wrinkling his nose at the thought of that particular punishment, one which they’d both endured more than once. “It wasn’t anything important. Headteacher McGonagall collared me about some head-boy stuff. All very boring, honestly. But-” 

Scorpius broke off his speech to root around in his satchel, frowning in concentration. Suddenly a wide smile broke his face in two, and he pulled a large, thick envelope from inside. He thrust it in Al’s direction. 

“Like I said, all very boring. But as I was leaving McGonagall said I was to give you this _directly_ … So here I am, your personal owl-boyfriend, delivering your letters!” Scorpius stroked the inside of Al’s wrist, surreptitiously. Albus leaned his shoulders in closely so their bodies touched. 

So…?” Scorpius prompted, his fingers tracing bigger circles onto Al’s palms. 

Albus didn’t say a word. He tucked the envelope into his bag with a simple shake of his head.

#### 9.32

> Add water to cauldron, being careful to stir anti clockwise throughout.  
>  Add the rest of the Red Myrrh.  
>  Leave to simmer. 

It was Scor’s turn to stir, and he did so carefully while Albus added the rest of the Myrrh.

The sight of that envelope had really thrown him, and he knew his boyfriend could tell. Scorpius had a sixth sense when it came to Albus. In their seven years of sharing their sweets, sharing homework, sharing kisses and even their bed, Albus didn’t think he’d ever kept a secret from him before. _(Well, he supposed he’d kept the fact that he’d fallen irrevocably in love with him hidden for about three months during their fifth year. But Scorpius, luckily, had been nursing that very same secret. Albus didn’t think that really counted)_

The envelope, however, represented a real secret. Something he’d not told his parents, Lily, James or even Teddy about. 

That envelope that had arrived from Headteacher. McGonagall contained news about the Wand Making apprenticeship that Albus had applied for, only one week previously. The thing was, Albus had known it was a long shot when he’d owled Ollivander, and had explained how interested he was in coming to work for him. Wand magic was obscure, mysterious and to Al’s mind, absolutely captivating. 

Other, far superior wizards in his year would no doubt be applying for to become the elderly wizard’s assistant and Albus didn’t think he’d stand a chance. 

“Come on Albie… A Groat for your thoughts” Scorpius said in a kind, quiet voice. “I didn’t mean to pry… I’m sorry. It just looked important, and… Well, I was just being nosy. I just love you, that’s all”

#### 9.40

> Once the potion has achieved a pale pink shade, add six drops of Wormwood Essence and three spoonfuls of Dried Beetle Powder.  
>  Your potion should now resemble a smooth, blackberry-coloured liquid.  
>  Stir your potion clockwise six times.  
>  Leave to settle for five minutes. 

In front of their eyes their potion changed colour. Scorpius added the next set of ingredients, and gave it a quick stir. His boyfriend cast his eyes quickly over the cauldron, but neither boy’s attention was on their work now.

“You weren't prying, Scor… McGonagall gave you the letter because she assumed you’d know what it meant. She knows… Well, everybody knows that we’re together. She thought I’d tell you about this, like I tell you everything. But I didn’t tell you-”

“Tell me what, Al?” Scorpius interrupted, reaching over to knot their fingers together. “I didn’t think we had any secrets! Whatever is it that's so terrible you couldn’t tell me? I told you about Cambridge from the very first day I was thinking about attending. And when I got accepted you were the first… The only person I wanted to tell-”

“But that’s the problem, love” Albus muttered, looking everywhere but at his best friend. “I wanted that so badly for you. Even though… Well, it worried me. I don’t like the idea of us being apart. _But even so, I wanted it because you did._ And I didn’t tell you about this because I knew I wouldn’t get on… And I just couldn’t stand the idea that you’d be disappointed by me-”

“Albus, you do realise that I love you? Merlin. There is _nothing_ in the world that could ever make me disappointed in you… But I still have absolutely no idea what you’re planning? Could you tell me what you’re supposedly not getting onto?-”

#### 9.47

> Carefully add the remainder of the Wormwood Essence and the Dried Beetle Powder.  
>  If the potion has been made as instructed, it will now be a very thick, burgundy liquid.  
>  Slowly add 100fl.oz of Flobberworm Mucus to thin out the potion, and to give it a greasy texture.  
>  Wait for potion to take on a dark red hue. 

Albus added the rest of the ingredients. He poured the Mucus slowly, feeling sick to his stomach both at its smell, and the situation he’d found himself.

Scorpius was standing closely beside him, peering at their potion. The laboratory was warm now, the cold of earlier banished by the steam of a dozen cauldrons. Albus felt like there was a hard knot in the back of his throat, and the emotions swirling in his chest felt hot and tight. 

“I’ve applied for an apprenticeship” Albus said shortly. “Wand Making. And I really want to do it, Scorpius. I’ve always enjoyed being practical, using my hands. Wand magic is so powerful… Well, its _everything_ to a wizard, isn’t it? I could be a part of that. Make a difference. Not like my dad, obviously. I’m no _Chosen One_ … But I'd be making a difference in my own way-”

“Albie, I-”

“It’s what I want” he continued, unwilling to be put off speaking. “And it’d give me some money to bring to our relationship too. I can’t live off your dad, love. And I want… Well, I want that flat we talked about. I want us to live together. But it’s never going to happen, is it? Ollivanders is still the best wandmaker on Diagon. Why would he want me? Remember, I’m the _Slytherin Squib-_ ”

“And not one person has called you that in the best part of four years! Albus, this is wonderful. But… You know, you need to open that letter now, love. They might be expecting you to send an owl in return”

#### 9.56

> Once the potion has achieved its dark red shade, slowly add the Valerian Root, half a spoonful at a time.  
>  Leave at least a minute between adding each half-spoonful.  
>  If the potion has been successful it will take on an iridescent shimmer. If not, it will remain dull, and should be considered a failure.  
>  Add Rosemary and Tea-tree Oil to pleasantly scent your potion. 

Their potion, at least, was sucessful.

Albus bottled their deep red, shimmering brew, and Scorpius inked their names onto the label. They walked up to Professor. Methi’s desk together, and gave it to her to be marked. Many in the classroom were still focussed hard on their task; their Professor was helping several of the Gryffindor students whose potions were black, burnt and smoking. Albus knew were supposed to be writing up their conclusions, but neither boy had picked up their quill. _Certainly_ , Albus thought, _nobody was paying them any attention_

“Albie, open it now!” Scorpius entreated, as they returned to their seats. “Nobodies looking! You won’t be able to settle until you know the answer and… And neither will I!-”

“ _This_ , Scorpius, is exactly why I didn’t tell you!… Merlin, I just don’t know if I can. You.. You’re immediately so eager… So on board with this whole bloody plan. It might just be a parchment telling me to sod off-” Albus shook his head, picking up his quill, and pressing the sharpened end into the pads of his fingertips. He knew he was procrastinating, but he simply couldn’t help it. He couldn’t bear the idea of Scorpius’ disappointed face when he read the inevitable no. 

“Yes, and it might not be! Your OWLs were excellent… You’ve played first team Quidditch all year. There’s no reason on Salazar’s green earth that they wouldn’t want you… And _I_ don’t care what it says. You know I’ll love you whatever it says. Although, they’d be utter shocking fools to let such a fine wizard slip thought their fingers...”

Albus looked at his boyfriend’s sweet, open face as he spoke. 

Beneath his reading glasses, Scor’s eyes were already sparkling with enthusiasm for their future. Some of his blond hair had escaped from the band holding it up, and was falling across his boyfriends face. The steam of the room had given it a slight curl, and Albus fought the urge to tuck it behind Scorpius’ ear, the way he might if they were alone. 

Albus imagined how it would be to awaken to that smile each morning. Imagined how it might be when they sat, drinking tea in their kitchen, and making small talk about their days. How it would feel to be able to kiss openly, whenever they wished, and to never again have to slide out of each other’s arms before dawn. _If that envelope was the interview he desperately hoped it might be, then that future was perhaps just a little bit more in their reach._

Al suddenly felt tired of all the waiting; felt tired of wanting, and loving, and never having enough of the boy sat in front of him. He didn’t bother replying to Scorpius, but instead pulled the envelope from his bag and tore it open in one movement, shaking the contents out onto the bench. Albus could hear the bell ringing that signalled the end of their class, feel their classmates moving towards the door, but neither he nor Scorpius stood to leave. 

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**Thank you for your application. I’m very excited about meeting with yourself and discussing this apprenticeship further. Headteacher. McGonagall has advised me you have her express permission to visit at any time. Please can you owl me on receipt of this letter with your preferred date…**

“Oh” murmured Albus, his hands shaking, and his brain incapable of making any kind of rational reply. 

“Oh, indeed!” laughed Scorpius, and he pulled Albus to him for a kiss that was warm, loving and full of the promise of their future together. 

And Albus would have carried on kissing Scorpius for the rest of the day – the rest of his life!- if he could, but his boyfriend had stood, making sure not to break the link of their hands, and he’d pulled Al up gently beside him. 

After all, it was just past ten, and they were already late for their next lesson.

**Author's Note:**

> A bolline knife is a witch or wizards primary knife for using in spells. It can be used for cutting herbs, calving symbols and cutting cords. 
> 
> Thank you for reading this story!


End file.
